Our new series, Basics Design, will incorporate five titles Format, Layout, Typography, Image and Colour, each representing the fundamentals of graphic design. This series will provide design students and anyone with an interest in creativity with an indispensable reference tool and a through knowledge of the building blocks of Graphic Design. Format concerns the physical dimensions of a product and the space one has to best present the graphic elements of a design. Product shape and size is a neglected but key aspect of a design's eventual impact, and within all print and digital media a creative approach to format selection can produce dramatic results. Armed with knowledge of different folding options the designer is open to additional creative possibilities that can have a pronounced effect on the finished product, whether it's an annual report, a book, a package or a magazine insert.

Gavin Ambrose achieved his Masters in Communications at Central St. Martins and is a tutor on both the Typographic and Information Design courses at the London College of Communication. He has written and designed several books on branding and packaging. Paul Harris studied at the London College of Communication and has gone on to become a freelance writer and editor. His work has appeared extensively in magazines and journals on both sides of the Atlantic, including style bible Dazed & Confused.